Batman: Man of Mystery
by SpiderBen
Summary: An indepth look at the psychology of the Dark Knight, and his first adventures.
1. Beginnings of the Dark Knight

Batman: Man of Mystery

A mysterious figure traverssed the rooftops that night. He turned, a terrible vision of a bat, sure to frighten anyone who had eyes. As he jumped from the top of the building, his wings spread in a ghastly fashion, he recounted how he had come to this place. It all happened because of that one thing. That special time in his life. It had driven him to this point. Rendered him almost insane. Through his dedication, he was able to perform feats like this. He was able to become a creature of the night. He vividly remembered walking down the alley that night. The gun flash. His mother's scream. Another gun flash. Tears. Vengeance. Yes, vengeance. That is what had driven him to this point, wasn't it? The thought of revenge upon his heart, he was fierce. He was unstoppable. Untamed. That was just his nature.

As he descended on three men, they scattered. One was near the safe, bearing through it with his sparking torch. Until he turned around. As soon as the gruesome bat was seen, a yell for help and a quick gasp of air was all that was permitted before a swift kick was delivered to his midsection. He landed only a few feet away, scrambling in vain to get up. The horrible vision from a nightmare bent down over him. Before he knew what happened, he was up in the air again, this time flying through a plate of glass. A shatter was heard and two men rushed to challenge the dark shadow. Only a few seconds later, they were on the ground, breathing heavily. Unconcious.

Just as a great light shone upon the scene, the cloaked figure was gone. The only thing known to police or to the three men was that he was a man, yet a bat, a bat, but also a man. A Batman.


	2. The Plan

"Rough night?" The query came from a white-haired man with a thin moustache. His English accent gave him more than a hint of class, a man ready to serve.

"Not too bad." The Batman took off his mask. Underneath was a young, friendly, but stern face, outlined by a black sea of hair.

The elder man turned around and began his walk to the doorway.

"Alfred," said the young man.

"Yes, Master Wayne?"

"Would you mind making dinner?"

Alfred chuckled. "Right away, Master Bruce."

"All right, boys, we got a big hit tonight. No screw-ups. I want this to be the perfect job." A man in a white suit with a contrasting brown ponytail turned around. "You guys better know what you're supposed to do, OK?"

There were murmurs of "Yeah," "Duh," and "Got it." The plan was laid into action.

Night. A house. Inside was a man striving to make a living, a former employee of the AXIS Chemical plant. Trying to live life as a comedian, he had his work cut out for him.

"How was it?" The voice came from a gentle face, outlined with blond hair.

The man didn't turn. "It was okay."

"Come on, honey, what happened?"

The man turned around and threw his arms into the air, screaming. "I screwed up a punchline, okay!? They booed me off the stage, and I made nothing! NOTHING!"

There was a pause before her response. "Oh."

The man blinked. "What?"

"Nothing."

"No, it's something. You said 'oh,' as in, 'oh, you did it again, huh,' 'oh,' as in 'oh, so we still can't afford food for the baby,' 'oh,' as in--!"

The woman turned a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Calm down, it's okay."

The man turned, tears in his eyes. "No it's not. But tonight, I got something lined up. Something big."

Bruce turned to Alfred. "Get the suit ready, Alfred. There's going to be a break-in at the AXIS chemical factory tonight."

Alfred bowed. "It would be an honor, sir."

The man from the house walked up to the ponytail wearing thug.

"M-M-Mr. Maroni?"

Maroni turned. "Yeah, Sal Maroni's the name. Are you the ex-employee?"

"Y-Yes, sir."

"What's your name?"

The man looked away. "I-If you don't mind, I'd like to go by the name Joe Kerr."

Maroni laughed. "Oh, like a joker, eh? I get it. Yeah, that's fine, just so long as you let us in."

"R-Right."

Maroni slapped the man on the shoulder. "Congratulations, Mr. Kerr. Looks like you're part of the plan now."


	3. The Tragedy of Joe Kerr

"Joe Kerr" unlocked the doors. "Wh-What do I do now?" came the anxious query. Clearly, the guy was a wimp.

"You come inside and we have a sing-a-long, whaddaya think?"

They walked inside and began to take things out of shelves and break into locked cabinets.

Suddenly, the look-out ran inside.

"There's some kinda giant bat outside, man! We gotta get outta here!"

The Batman walked in.

A gangster turned away to scoff at the look-out. "Man, chill the-- Holy crap!"

The look-out turned to face the Batman. "Oh, duuuuuude!"

"Joe Kerr" turned around. "It's some kind of-- Batman!" He turned to run away.

The look-out yelled after him. "Hey, where do you think you're goin', ya louzy little sleaze-bag!?" He sighed and turned around to face Batman.

"Batman, eh? Bet a bullet on a bat!" He fired at Batman, but the cloaked man was too fast, rolling down, then knocking his opponents off their feet.

One gangster turned around to follow "Joe Kerr," but was intercepted by Batman.

"Man, what are you? Y-You ain't even human!"

Batman gave no response. He looked at the man, camly drew back his fist, and the conversation was over. He ran off in pursuit of "Joe Kerr."

"Joe Kerr" had found his old department--the chemical waste plant. As he slowly walked onto a catwalk above a vat of green, oozing chemical waste, he looked down and trembled.

Batman rushed in. "Joe Kerr" looked up, and immediatley gasped in shock.

"L-L-Listen, Mr. Batman, uh, s-sir... I really... I have a family... I didn't want to-- My wife is pregnant!" Delirious, he slapped himself on the head. "My wife is pregnant..." He climbed onto the railing, ready to jump and escape it all.

Batman quickly dashed onto the catwalk. "No!"

This was the breaking point for poor "Mr. Kerr." He looked back at the Batman, took a gulp of air, and cannonballed into the chemical waste.

Batman looked rather sorrowfully at the ripples left behind. But there was no time for mourning. He turned, and exited the building.


End file.
